Bon Secours Community Hospital spokeswoman Mary Decker said seven of the firefighters had been treated and released by 6:30 p.m., and an eighth firefighter had just entered the hospital about that time.

The fire broke out around 2 p.m. at 106 N. Orange St. and raged as scores of firefighters from several municipalities struggled to bring it under control by around 6:30 p.m.

The house was gutted. Houses on either side of the property, 104 and 108, were also damaged.

The roof of 108 was partially destroyed, and siding had to be pulled from 104 to keep it from igniting.

Although the cause of the fire was still under investigation, Jeff Rhoades, chief of the Port Jervis Fire Department, said "general clutter" in and outside the house made battling the flames especially difficult.

Members of the Port Jervis City Council were on site and called for an emergency session, during which the fate of the smoldering house was voted upon.

It was determined that the structure was an immediate threat to the safety of the neighborhood, and it was decided that the home would be razed as quickly as possible.

Russell Potter, the town's mayor, stated that he hoped to have the structure demolished "by the end of the night."

Fire departments assisting the Port Jervis Fire Department included Slate Hill, Mechanicsville and Middletown, all of New York, and Hardyston, from New Jersey.